Chapter 7: Escape from the City

The cabin sat nestled among towering pines like a secret whispered by the forest itself, its weathered cedar walls and stone chimney a stark contrast to the glass and steel they'd left behind in Manhattan. Leo stood on the wraparound porch, breathing air so clean it almost hurt his lungs, while James wrestled their overnight bags from the rental car.

"This is your idea of roughing it?" Leo called out, taking in the hot tub tucked discreetly behind a privacy screen of evergreen branches.

James appeared at his elbow, slightly out of breath. "My college roommate's family place. They barely use it anymore." He gestured toward the vast expanse of forest stretching endlessly beyond the deck. "Figured we could use some space to think without worrying about who's watching."

The past week had been a whirlwind of corporate warfare that would have made Sun Tzu proud. Leo's formal complaint to HR had sent shockwaves through Meridian's carefully maintained facade of professionalism. Vanessa's reaction had been swift and vicious—a counter-complaint alleging that Leo was creating a hostile work environment through "unwanted advances" and "inappropriate behavior toward colleagues."

But Leo had been prepared. Three years of watching Vanessa manipulate situations to her advantage had taught him to document everything. The photos she'd taken of him and James, the threatening conversation in the conference room, the pattern of harassment that stretched back to other employees who'd crossed her path—he'd presented it all to HR with the methodical precision of a man who'd finally found his backbone.

The investigation was ongoing, but the preliminary findings weren't favorable to Vanessa. James's promotion to senior associate had been fast-tracked, partly as damage control and partly because several partners had quietly admitted they'd been looking for an excuse to rein in Vanessa's influence for years.

"So we're officially fugitives from office politics," Leo said, settling into one of the Adirondack chairs that faced the forest.

James joined him, close enough that their shoulders brushed. "Temporarily. Though I have to admit, watching Vanessa try to explain those surveillance photos to the ethics committee was almost worth the stress."

Leo laughed, remembering the expression on Vanessa's face when HR had asked her to clarify exactly why she'd been having employees followed by a private investigator. "Her lawyer looked like he wanted to crawl under the conference table."

"The restraining order was a nice touch," James added, his hand finding Leo's on the armrest between their chairs. "Very thorough of you."

The easy intimacy of the gesture still sent sparks through Leo's nervous system, but here, surrounded by nothing but trees and sky, it felt natural rather than dangerous. No one was watching. No one was judging. For the first time in months, they could simply exist together without calculating the risks.

"I can't believe we're actually here," Leo said softly. "Two weeks ago, I was convinced we were going to lose everything."

James squeezed his fingers. "We still might. The investigation isn't over, and Vanessa's not exactly the type to go quietly."

"But we're not hiding anymore."

"No," James agreed, bringing Leo's hand to his lips for a soft kiss. "We're definitely not hiding."

The afternoon dissolved into the kind of lazy intimacy that felt like luxury after weeks of stolen moments and careful distance. They explored the cabin's modest amenities—a kitchen stocked with basics, a living room dominated by a stone fireplace, a bedroom with windows that looked out into the canopy of pine boughs.

James had thought of everything, Leo realized. Wine chilling in the refrigerator, steaks for the grill, even a playlist queued up on a small speaker system. The same attention to detail that made him so good at his job, applied to creating a perfect escape.

"You know," Leo said, watching James attempt to start a fire in the hearth with the focused intensity he usually reserved for quarterly reports, "I never asked you something."

"What's that?" James looked up from the kindling, his hair falling across his forehead in a way that made Leo's chest tighten with affection.

"When did you know? About us, I mean. When did you realize this was more than just... experimentation?"

James sat back on his heels, considering the question seriously. "Honestly? That morning after our second night together. I woke up and you were making coffee, and you were humming something under your breath—completely off-key, by the way—and I just... knew."

"Knew what?"

"That I wanted to wake up to that sound every morning for the rest of my life." James's cheeks flushed slightly. "Scared the hell out of me."

Leo felt his throat tighten with emotion. "You never said anything."

"I was terrified. You have to understand, Leo—I'd built my entire identity around being the guy who could charm anyone, who never got attached, who always had an exit strategy. And suddenly there you were, making terrible coffee and humming off-key, and I was completely gone."

The fire caught with a sudden whoosh of flame, casting dancing shadows across the walls. James dusted off his hands and moved to the couch, pulling Leo down beside him.

"What about you?" James asked, his arm settling around Leo's shoulders with comfortable familiarity. "When did you know?"

Leo leaned into the warmth of James's body, breathing in the scent of wood smoke and the cologne that had become achingly familiar. "I think I knew before you did. Maybe even before that first night at Murphy's. I'd been telling myself it was just friendship, just admiration, but..."

"But?"

"But every time you touched me—even casually, like when you'd clap me on the shoulder or steal food off my plate—I'd feel this jolt of electricity. I thought it was just hero worship, you know? Plain Leo crushing on his beautiful, charismatic best friend."

James pulled back to look at him, his expression serious. "You're not plain, Leo. You never were. I was just too stupid and self-absorbed to see what was right in front of me."

The kiss that followed was soft, unhurried, tasting of wine and promise. When they broke apart, the fire had settled into a steady glow, and the last light of day was fading beyond the windows.

"I love you," James murmured against Leo's lips, the words still carrying the weight of newness, of a confession that had the power to change everything.

"I love you too," Leo replied, marveling at how natural it felt to say it, how right.

They made dinner together in the cabin's small kitchen, moving around each other with an ease that spoke of growing intimacy. James proved surprisingly competent with the grill, while Leo managed to produce a salad that was only slightly wilted. They ate on the deck as the forest settled into evening symphony—the rustle of leaves, the distant call of a loon, the subtle sounds of wild things beginning their nocturnal routines.

"This is nice," Leo said, watching James's face in the soft glow of the solar lights that had automatically flickered on as darkness fell.

"Just nice?" James raised an eyebrow, his smile teasing.

"Okay, this is perfect. Happy now?"

"Getting there."

Later, as they lay tangled in the cabin's queen bed with the windows open to let in the cool mountain air, Leo traced patterns on James's chest and tried to memorize every detail of this moment. Tomorrow they would return to the city, to the investigation and the gossip and the careful navigation of a relationship that was no longer secret but not yet fully accepted.

But tonight, they were just two people who had found something worth fighting for, something worth risking everything to protect.

"James?" Leo's voice was soft in the darkness.

"Mmm?"

"Thank you. For this. For fighting for us. For not letting Vanessa win."

James's arms tightened around him. "Thank you for being brave enough to love me even when I was too scared to love you back."

"Are you still scared?"

James was quiet for a moment, his breathing steady beneath Leo's cheek. "Terrified. But the good kind of terrified. The kind that means something important is happening."

Leo smiled against James's skin. "I can live with that kind of terrified."

"Good," James murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of Leo's head. "Because I have a feeling we're just getting started."

Outside, the forest whispered its ancient secrets to the night, and two men who had found each other against all odds slept deeply, dreamlessly, wrapped in the peace of finally being home.